No second inquest will be held into the death of a heroin addict whose parents allowed pictures of her body to be used as part of a nationwide antidrug campaign.

Mick and Pauline Holcroft said they were "extremely disappointed and perplexed" that the Exeter and Greater Devon District Coroner, Dr Elizabeth Earland, had decided against holding a fresh inquiry into the death of their daughter Rachel Whitear.

The couple, from Ledbury, Herefordshire, said they had received notification of the decision last weekend.

Rachel's body was exhumed in March last year, four years after she was found dead in a bedsit in Exmouth, Devon.

Graphic pictures of her body were later used as part of a hard-hitting campaign in schools highlighting the perils of drug abuse.

Wiltshire Police have been conducting a new inquiry into the 21-year-old's death after an open verdict was recorded at the original inquest.

In a statement, Mr and Mrs Holcroft said: "We have now received notification from Dr Elizabeth Earland ... that it is not her intention to apply for permission to hold a further inquest into the death of our daughter Rachel and to have the original inquest verdict quashed.

"We understand that the Attorney General, the Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith QC, has been put on notice of her conclusions. We are extremely disappointed and perplexed at this decision.

"Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett and his dedicated team from Wiltshire Constabulary have carried out an exhaustive and extensive two-year re-investigation into Rachel's death which has been exceptionally thorough, highly detailed and no doubt costly.

"We have been kept fully informed of developments at all times and for this we remain immensely grateful.

"It is our firm belief that there are indisputable grounds to, at the very least, now provide a cause of death.

"We are currently seeking legal advice to put our valid case before Lord Goldsmith QC for a full and open hearing and meanwhile have written to him stating our concerns to respectfully request he has sight of all the papers relating to Wiltshire Constabulary's inquiry before making a judgment."

Detectives re-investigating Rachel's death said last August that there was no evidence of foul play but that toxicological tests indicated the tragedy in May 2000 was heroin-related.

At the time, Rachel's stepfather Mr Holcroft, a 57-yearold teacher, and her 55-yearold mother, said they felt progress was being made in establishing a firm cause of death.

The couple have always expressed grave concerns about the first investigation, which was carried out by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.

Rachel's flat was not fingerprinted until two weeks after she died and officers took prints from her body only on the day she was to be buried.

At the original inquest, coroner Richard Van Oppen said he was "certain" Rachel did not die of a drug overdose and recorded an open verdict. No post-mortem examination was carried out at the time.

The Wiltshire Constabulary investigation was carried out under the supervision of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

IPCC commissioner Ian Bynoe said in a statement: "The cause of Rachel Whitear's death was reinvestigated because of concerns that the initial inquiry by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, and the subsequent inquest, failed to find out how she died.

"Our supervision - and that of the Police Complaints Authority before us - has ensured that this part of the investigation has been conducted very thoroughly indeed and we have seen the report and evidence sent by Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett to HM Coroner for Exeter and Greater Devon."